123: Time Management for Writers and Sales Funnels with Craig Ballantyne

Craig Ballantyne has been the Editor of the personal development newsletter, Early To Rise, since 2011. His daily essays reach over 150,000 readers and teach people how to build their wealth, improve their health, and become the best version of themselves. He now coaches entrepreneurs around the world how to turn their ideas into money and to help people all over the world.

Craig is also a fitness expert and the author of the groundbreaking fat loss workout systems, Turbulence Training, and Home Workout Revolution. He has been a contributing author to Men’s Health magazine since 2000. He created the Turbulence Training Certification program to show personal trainers how to help men and women lose weight without equipment or cardio exercise. There are hundreds of TT Trainers around the world dedicated to his 10 Million Mission of helping ten million men and women transform their lives before 2020. Craig has an advanced research background, completing a Master of Science Degree in Exercise Physiology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He continues to study the latest in health and performance and to help his readers improve their lives.

This is a great interview. We talk about time management, how to be your most productive, book marketing, and how to create a sales funnel from a nonfiction book.

If you’re a nonfiction author Craig gives you a model you can use to create a six- or seven-figure business with your expertise.

Time Management

The Three C’s of Time Management

1. Control what you can. Craig chooses to control his morning because it’s the easiest time of day for him to control.

2. Cope with what you can’t control.

3. Concentrate on What Counts. Figure out your highest value activities. As much as you can, focus on the activities that will move you toward your goals.

Craig attributes his success as a blogger and author to dedicating the first hour of the day when he wakes up to writing content.

The 1% Solution

If you don’t have an hour a day, just wake up 15 minutes before anyone else and spend 15 minutes a day on your highest priority task. Arnold Schwarzenegger did the math and 15 minutes a day is 1% of your time. If you spend 1% of your time every day on your most important task you will achieve your goals far faster than you ever thought possible.

If you commit 15 minutes a day to writing your book, you could have a manuscript ready to publish in as little as 10 to 12 weeks. The secret is to outline what you’re going to write the night before. Go to sleep and let your subconscious work on how to craft the words.

If you have a rough outline done, writing on a blank page will be much easier.

Alice Monroe once said “Write in the slivers of time.”

Craig says that everyone has Magic Time where they are three times more effective than the rest of the day. The best way to increase productivity is to figure out what time of the day that is for you and then protect that time from distractions.

For many people it is the morning when they first wake up. For some people it’s early in the afternoon, and others are night owls. If you’re not sure when you’re Magic Time is, just pay attention to how you feel throughout the day for a a few days It may help to write down what you do with your time. When do you feel most alert and awake? When you feel like you have the most energy?

Once you’ve discovered when you’re Magic Time is, it’s important to protect it from distractions so that you can be your most productive self.

It’s important to have separate blocks of time scheduled for creative activities and business activities.

The creative mind and the business mind can’t peacefully work together during the same blocks of time. It’s best if you set aside certain blocks of time for different types of activity.

If you want to be more successful than you currently are, one of the most important things you can do is hang out with people who are more successful than you.

Your level of success can be measured by the five people you spend the most time with. Choose to spend your time with people who will make you strive to get to their level.

Book Marketing

Craig does two things to market his book. First, he does as many podcasts as he can to get his message out there. He came up with this strategy after talking to his mentor Dan Kennedy who said that every time he does a teleseminar call he sells 100 books. Craig thought if teleseminars can do that for Dan Kennedy, each podcast interview might be worth 20 sales of his book.

In 2016 alone, Craig has done over 100 podcast interviews.

The benefits of these interviews go well beyond direct sales. Podcast interviews have made Craig a better communicator and have allowed him to tighten up the sales pitch for his book.

The other thing that Craig has done to promote his book is create The Perfect Day Formula Kit. This is a $200 info product full of worksheets and exercises to help you become your most productive self.

The most powerful thing that Craig has done from a business standpoint is to create a sales funnel.

How to Create a Sales Funnel

A sales funnel is simply a line of products that get your customers to buy more than one thing from you. Most sales funnels have a mix of low-end entry-level products and big-ticket items in them. The sales funnels generally follow a progression from the least expensive item to the highest priced item. For example, Craig sales funnel goes like this:

1. You buy Craig’s book for $20 on Amazon
2. From there you find out about his Perfect Day Formula Kit priced at $200
3. From there he offers webinar coaching at $500
4. From there he offers small group coaching (up to five people) for $5000 a person.
5. If you want one-on-one coaching from Craig he offers a day-long intensive for $25,000

This model can be replicated for just about any sort of information product you can think of.

1. A book at the entry-level
2. A more in-depth info product for around $200
3. More personalized coaching for around $500
4. More in-depth and personalized coaching for $5000
5. One-on-one coaching for $25,000 -$50,000

If you want to increase your sales and income, create a better sales funnel and make sure you are providing as much value as you possibly can to your audience.